Resistance – A Pathway to Pain
With all that’s going on in the world, it is tempting to spend a lot of time resisting “what is”, even though reality is fleeting at best. As my mentor Abraham Hicks says about reality, “There it goes again. There it goes again. There it goes again.”
When we resist what is happening we place our entire focus on what we do not want. Admittedly, it’s difficult not to when it is right in front of us in full living color! And yet, the more we resist the more we attract that which we are resisting. This is what the Law of Attraction is all about—you get more of what you focus on.
There are lots of people who are either out of work or losing money in other ways. Many are spending a good deal of time and energy being upset about it. Of course being upset is an understandable response at the beginning. No matter how enlightened one is, when something happens that threatens your security, you take a hit to the solar plexus.
What’s crucial is what we do after we’ve absorbed the hit. Reality gives us two options. We can:
1. Turn upstream and struggle against the current; or
2. Turn downstream, relax and enjoy the ride.
When we turn upstream, the struggle is fierce which for some of us seems to be the point. In our society, we have been taught that it is noble to struggle. That’s why so many people are mad about Bill Gates having billions of dollars. He appears not to have suffered enough to deserve it. If he had been tragically orphaned at birth or were in a wheelchair or even a minority, we wouldn’t begrudge his wealth. But he has the audacity to make it look like accumulating all that money was fairly easy. For him, it was easy (and continues to be), which is why he has it in the first place. He does not resist wealth; he expects it and he attracts it. Billions!
If I had one shred of evidence that being upset about reality did any good, I would not be writing this. However, the preponderance of evidence is that it is actually quite bad for us. Resisting reality is a direct pathway to pain. It causes stress which in turn floods our bodies with chemicals that do real damage.
Plus, it feels awful.
Being in a state of negative emotion is completely the opposite of who we really are. Our original design can be seen when we watch small children who are completely devoted to their own happiness. If a small child’s allowance is taken away from him, he takes an emotional hit to the solar plexus and throws a tantrum. However, within 20 minutes or so, he is off having a good time focused on something else. He doesn’t fret about the lost money. He doesn’t tell everyone he meets about it. He doesn’t form a support group around it. He moves on because he knows what’s done is done and his happiness is more important than crying over something he can’t control.
As adults, we encourage this kind of resilience in children but when it comes to our own recovery from tough circumstances, we have more of a tendency to turn events into full-blown tragedies. Our news media reflects this. Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt have been divorced since 2005 and the news media is STILL milking the “tragedy” of their break-up. The funeral for this marriage is lasting longer than the four-year marriage itself. Hey, news media! It’s time to move on.
I don’t mean for one moment to imply that a child losing his allowance is comparable to someone losing their pension or their job. The comparison is simply to show that we were designed to float downstream, enjoying the ride. While you’re floating you can either focus on all the rocks that “might” hit the boat or you can focus on how beautiful the scenery is as it drifts by. The more you can do this, the more you will attract circumstances to you that will more than make up for whatever you have lost.
Plus, it’s really enjoyable.
When someone asks, “How are you?” do not tell them your reality (there it goes again!). Tell them instead, “I’m on my way to something amazing!” And you will be.
